I dress up as a poor noblewoman, and I bring my whole family home with my literary talent.

Chapter 68: Mad Lady Zhao
It was late at night when we returned to Song's house.
The walls on all four sides of the Song residence were two meters high, but there was a lot of debris piled up outside the west wall. She groped her way to the west wall with ease, and after building it up for a long time with a series of clanging and clanging movements, she made sure it was stable and then climbed into the yard.

As soon as she landed, she turned around and saw a dim lantern lit behind her. It was pitch black all around. She was so scared that her legs went weak and she fell to the ground.

The lantern gradually moved upwards, illuminating Ah Zhu's young and handsome face. He looked obviously surprised, "Fifth Miss, you..."

When Song Lingyi saw that it was Ah Zhu, she breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't try to hide the truth and said that she had asked for leave to go home, but something happened on the way, which delayed her return home.

Ah Zhu was a tight-lipped person, and he promised to keep the fact of Song Lingyi returning home late at night a secret, and he would never tell anyone. And after the tongue-cutting incident last time, although the two of them did not say it explicitly, they were already in the same boat.

Tomorrow is the promotion banquet, and there are lanterns and decorations everywhere in the mansion. Even though it is dark, one can feel the warm atmosphere in advance. Ah Zhu held the lantern for Song Lingyi and went to the backyard. She looked left and right and saw that even the wooden railings in the corridor had been newly painted. It was very strange. Madam Song must have spent a lot of money this time.

"Oh..." Song Lingyi took a few quick steps and patted the newly built wooden pavilion in the courtyard. Even though she lowered her voice, she couldn't hide the surprise in her tone: "Why didn't we have this before?"

Ah Zhu said, "This was built by a carpenter from the north of the city, whom Mr. Song had hired at great expense. He just moved back to the house this morning. The Song residence is not as big as before, so it's good for Mr. and Mrs. to invite people to be their guests."

There used to be a big water tank in the courtyard. It was not only empty, but also made tinkling noises when it was windy and rainy. It is quite suitable to put this pavilion here. We can put a few tables here and have our meals here.

Entering the backyard, Song Lingyi turned around and waved, indicating that Azhu didn't need to follow.

Quiet at night
She walked quietly to the east wing and was about to push the door open when she felt an unignorable gaze from her side. When she turned around to look, she was almost scared to death.

In the dim environment, Zhao Xiaoniang, dressed in white, stood in the corridor like a ghost, staring at Song Lingyi patiently, calmly and silently. Her weirdness was even more than that of Song Zhirou before.

Can this Song family's ice cave be a little more normal?

Zhao Xiaoniang approached slowly step by step, silently grabbed Song Lingyi, and half-pulled her into her room.

This was the first time that Song Lingyi had entered Zhao Xiaoniang's room since she had traveled to Daliang. Although Zhao Xiaoniang was sometimes crazy, her room was tidy and one could smell the fragrance of flowers.

The mother and daughter have always disliked each other.
Zhao Xiaoniang said in a mocking tone: "Where did Song Sili come back from so late at night? Do you want me to inform the whole family to applaud and welcome you?"

What happened today was enough to upset Song Lingyi, and when it was time to turn the page, Zhao Xiaoniang came up to make trouble for her.

Song Lingyi said coldly: "When have I ever cared about my affairs?" The implication was that she should not meddle in other people's affairs.

It was not easy for Zhao Xiaoniang to show off her power at this time. Her bluff was easily defeated. She smiled and said, "I think you can't stay idle in the palace. You went out of the palace to meet your lover. That's why you come home so late!"

"Miss Song Wu is really amazing. You have the princess and the imperial master as your backers. His Majesty promoted you because of your master's face. I heard that Imperial Master Ye is over 50 years old. Miss Song Wu is really bold!" Zhao Xiaoniang was narrow-minded and thought everything was dirty. Even if it was something Song Lingyi had not done, she could push it onto Song Lingyi without any reason, as if she could get pleasure and comfort from insulting her daughter.

Song Lingyi remained unmoved, but just looked at her sadly, looking at her decayed and withered soul.

After a long while, she laughed at herself, "Sometimes, I really doubt whether I am your biological daughter. You can be caring and considerate to your fourth sister, who is also your daughter, so why can't I be the same? If you hadn't conceived me, would you have been able to move from the countryside to Chang'an and enter the Song family with dignity?!"

Zhao Xiaoniang was hurt by these words and suddenly became hysterical: "So what? How many people in the Song family think highly of me? Mei Ruozhao started to deduct all my expenses after I gave birth to you; Song Anchao Qin Muchu, how many times at night did he think of me? Zhou Xuewei has never made me feel comfortable since the first day I entered the mansion! You have been a debt collector since you were born! You are all sanctimonious and self-righteous. Why do you look down on me and despise me? I, Zhao Jingyao, just don't want to live a poor life anymore, crying all night for a skirt, kneeling and kowtowing for two taels of silver. If I hadn't tried my best to get close to Song An, would you be a female official now and cling to the powerful!? I'm afraid you would have been listed in Suochunlou long ago!"

Song Lingyi's heart had long been tempered by her into a cold-blooded indifference. Zhao Xiaoniang's affectionate and tearful accusation was thrown into the air, and she just said indifferently: "You are so self-deprecating that you think everyone is the same as you? You make your own choices and bear the consequences yourself. No matter how poor the Song family is, I have also been glorious. We are just using each other."

Zhao Xiaoniang was so angry that she rushed up and was ready to fight with Song Lingyi.

Song Lingyi dodged swiftly, and Zhao Xiaoniang hit her head on the cabinet, causing bottles and jars to fall to the ground.

"You'd better make a little more noise, and wait for the whole family to come and see us, mother and daughter, making a fool of ourselves!"

Zhao Xiaoniang lay on the cabinet, laughing crazily and hysterically: "Do you think I'm stupid?! If your father and the eldest lady knew about your late return home at night, they would definitely teach you a lesson. If you are not happy, then I will be happy!!"

"Mother, do you think father doesn't know how he got this position? He is much better at weighing the pros and cons than you are. With the promotion banquet coming up, he wouldn't want any rumors to spread that would be unfavorable to the Song family. But mother, the Song family has been in decline for so long, and the situation has finally improved. Wouldn't it be better for you to just be the mother of a seventh-rank female official? Who would dare to look down on you at the banquet tomorrow?"

"I won't accept this!" Zhao Xiaoniang interrupted her in a low voice, "How can a bad guy like you win the princess's favor and become a court lady? You should be like me, looked down upon, despised, and miserable for the rest of your life!"

"I think you are really crazy!" Song Lingyi did not expect that Zhao Xiaoniang had such deep resentment towards her, but fortunately, she was not the real Song Lingyi and had no feelings for this cheap mother.

She turned around and opened the door. Before leaving, she couldn't help but said, "I, Song Lingyi, don't think I have done anything to let you down or to the Song family. Just because I'm a girl, do you think I'm going to be squeezed out of my last breath? Do you know..." Do you know that your real daughter died in the spring pond a long time ago...

Never mind. There is no point in talking any more. Evil people will never reflect on themselves.
So she will not forgive, never!
Song Lingyi left resolutely, leaving Zhao Xiaoniang alone in the room, crying.

Zhao Xiaoniang was born beautiful, otherwise she would not have been favored by Mr. Song when she was young and successfully conceived two children. However, after years of wasting time, she has become unrecognizable and has been rejected by Mr. Song.

During this period, Master Song wanted to get closer to the third wife, so he stayed in her room almost every day. She was rosy-cheeked during the day, but she was not stupid. She knew that Master Song's favor came from that debt collector, so the more Master Song favored her, the more twisted her heart became.

Zhao Xiaoniang slowly walked to the dressing mirror, looked at her embarrassed self in the mirror, and pulled a stiff and ugly smile. It was a pity that her life, in the end, was nothing but a joke.

(End of this chapter)